#PeopleOfDonatekart: Meet Santosh Vadla

“My father is a bus conductor in the Telangana transport corporation and my mother is a homemaker. One of the first lessons that I had learnt from my parents was being content with what we had. So, even if we didn’t have all the fancy things growing up, we never felt their need. We were happy in our own small world. Whatever the situation now, I know that they would be my first priority.

I think the first time I had a disagreement with my father was when I told them that I don’t want to pursue engineering like all my cousins did. ‘Then what else?’ — was his question and I had meekly told him that I want to make a career out of drawing and painting. He knew about my love for painting but for a middle class family in India, this just seems out of the question.

And then, one day, I came across this institute where one could learn multimedia, animation etc. I was immediately interested. And even my father agreed to it once he got to know about the career options that this course offered.

People always talk about following their heart. But what they miss talking about is how following one’s heart can be a difficult journey and where one has to continue believing in themselves. One of my biggest challenges has been the language barrier. Talking in English fluently used to scare me for the longest time, I have always been a student of Telugu medium. And funnily enough, English movies and web series came to my rescue. I used to watch so many Hollywood movies and replay them over the weekends just to pick up the language by reading the subtitles. I am glad that I could pick up a completely new language, all on my own.

I have come a long way and Donatekart has been instrumental in giving me a sense of purpose and fulfilment. But in all this hustle, I sometimes miss painting. Previously, it used to be my stress buster — I loved expressing myself through colours. Lately, I haven’t been able to do that but now my wife keeps motivating me to go back to painting. Hopefully, soon, I will surprise her with a painting!”

-Santosh Vadla, Graphic Designer — Head